


Must Love Hellhounds: Lost And Found

by silverruffian



Series: Must Love Hellhounds [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Animal Abuse, Attempted Kidnapping, Cheeseburgers, Damaged Dean, Dean Winchester Bears the Mark of Cain, Gen, Hell, Hellhounds, Homeless Dean, Homelessness, Illusions, Kindred Spirits, Knight of Hell Dean Winchester, Mark of Cain, POV Animal, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Revenge, Righteous Man, Suicide Attempt, True Forms, Weirdness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-05-15 21:49:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5801506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverruffian/pseuds/silverruffian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hershey is the oddball son of Juliet the Hellhound. He's no good at dragging souls down to Hell. Retraining him doesn't go well and he ends up living on the mean streets topside. One night Hershey meets a wayward Knight of Hell named Dean Winchester.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. one dark knight

I wanted to end myself. So I sat out in the rain. Maybe I'd get lucky. Maybe it would wash me away. Suicide by rain. Sounds dumb, right? Well, rain is from Heaven. I was born in Hell. I figured the rain would just take me apart, dissolve me away. Out on the streets I always found a place out of the rain, somewhere I could hide and stay dry.

Now I just don't care anymore. I miss my mom but I can't go home. I don't think she loves me anymore. My pack doesn't want me. I don't belong anywhere.

It was night time. Cars went up and down the street. No one stopped. No one paid me any attention and that was fine. They couldn't see me anyway, what with all the rain, fog and wind. The rain came down so hard it slanted sideways and the air looked smoky. I crouched there on the sidewalk, out in the open and I waited to fall apart. I have thick fur so it took a while to get soaked down to my skin.

I don't know why humans say that it rains cats and dogs. Tabbies and chihuahuas and Irish setters and Persian cats falling out of the sky? I've never seen that. Ever.

I was tired. Hungry. Couldn't remember the last time I ate something. The neighborhood cats were bigger than I thought they'd be. Bigger, faster and meaner too. I managed to catch a few and eat them but I got scratched up pretty badly.

Holding a soul or live food in my mouth, having it wriggle and squirm around like that feels funny to me. I mean funny-peculiar, not funny haha. Makes me shudder and shiver all over. That's why I let some of the small dogs and cats I caught get away.

The humans blamed coyotes. If they only knew. They kept their pets inside after that. The stray dogs and cats left the neighborhood. So did the pigeons, squirrels and racoons.

Dragging souls down to hell? I'm just not good at it, not like the rest of my family. My mom Juliet is the best. Me? Not so much.

The pack master and the trainers told King Crowley I have a soft mouth. I don't know what that means. That's why they sent me topside, to toughen me up I guess.

That didn't work out. I messed that up too.

At first I didn't want to attract too much attention to myself out here. I look like a big black German Shepherd. My eyes are electric blue. I can fool humans into thinking I look like a Yorkie most days when I put my mind to it.

Why a Yorkie? Well, humans like small and cute, right? Sometimes they even feed small and cute.

That didn't work all the time. Certain humans can see what I really look like no matter what I do. Whenever that happened all that screaming gave me a headache.

This place has turned mean. Instead of food lately all I got for my trouble was a stick or a rock upside my head. I dumpster dived, but rotten food tasted nasty and upset my stomach.

I even thought about breaking into the human houses and taking their food.

Or taking one of the small human kids to eat.

I thought about it, on those dark nights when I was so hungry my chest folded in on my belly.

Fresh meat. Warm blood.

Those nights I'd sit there with my eyes closed until those thoughts went away.

All that's over now. The cold rain came down. It soaked my skin and I waited. If I had anything to say about it this would be my last night on earth.

A big black car rumbled down the street. I remember thinking that it sounded angry as it passed by. Halfway down the block it stopped. I saw the brake lights flash red. The car sat there. Then it backed up.

The car stopped in the street right in front of me. The rain and the streetlights overhead made its black metal hide look slick and shiny.

I stared at the driver and he stared right back.

He looked big, blond and wolfy at first, with short black twisted horns. Then he looked human. Short light colored hair. His skin had spots. I think you humans call them freckles. He had the brightest, greenest eyes I'd ever seen. Green turned black and I knew then what he was.

He was a demon. The horned wolf was his trueform.

Rain ran into my eyes. I blinked and lowered my head. I was cold, soaked to the bone and miserable. If Heaven's rain was going to wash me away it was taking its own sweet time about it.

I heard the car door creak. Then footsteps and the door creaked again, closer this time. I took one last look. Last time pays for all.

The green eyed demon from the big black car stood there staring at me. I couldn't tell from the look on his face what he was thinking. The rain slicked his hair down and made his clothes dark. He ignored the wet.

He knelt down in front of me and he stared at me even harder. Well, I couldn't blame him for that. He'd probably never seen such a worthless piece of shit like me before in his entire life.

"Dude. You've got ears like Batman."

Who?

He had a nice voice, kind of deep and rumbly, like the car. But that's how they sucker us in. They lie. Two leggers all lie. Doesn't matter if they're human or demon.

I flinched when he put his hand out. At first I thought he was going to touch the top of my head. I don't like being touched there. When I jerked back he stopped and his eyes narrowed as he looked at me. Then he held his hand out palm down, fingers curled under, right in front of my nose. I couldn't help myself. I sniffed at his knuckles. He was different from any other demon I'd ever seen or smelled. He had the Mark of Cain on him. Its power prickled the inside of my nose like red pepper.

My mom used to tell me and my brothers and sisters that if we didn't go to sleep Cain would come and get us. I wasn't sure this was Cain, though. I'd heard there was more than one Knight of Hell.

"Hey buddy. What you doin' out here, huh?"

I was so tired I didn't react, even when he stroked me underneath my chin. My tail thumped the ground a couple of times at the sound of his voice. Damn thing always did have a mind of its own.

"Suicide by rain doesn't work. You know that now, right?"

I didn't speak. I whined like a day old pup instead. _Yeah. I know that now._ I closed my eyes. My tail stopped wagging.

"Don't bite me now, y'hear?"

His arms wrapped around my body. That made me whimper. I don't like surprises. Surprises are always bad. I didn't bite him, didn't struggle. I didn't have any energy left in me anymore.

He lifted me up. I went limp on the outside and numb inside. I always do that so I don't feel the pain when they hurt me. It was better this way. Hell found me at last and they were going to get rid of me.

I cracked one eye open and saw the car sitting there. The door nearest the sidewalk was open.

When the Knight put me down on the seat I pancaked flat onto my stomach. Everything got blurry. The inside of the car was warm and dry. It didn't smell like I thought it would. I expected sulfur and brimstone. Instead I smelled cooked meat.

My belly rumbled. _Food._

_Shut up._

It didn't stop. My belly's just as mindful as my tail.

The door behind me closed. I heard him walk around the front of the car. Another creak as the door on his side opened. I felt his weight on the seat beside me. The door creaked shut again.

The big car rumbled again and away we went. I'd heard rumors about what Crowley did to useless things like me. Some said he made furniture out of our hide and bones. Some said that we went to Purgatory when we died.

I didn't care anymore. I was done.

* * *

_**TBC:**_ Chapter 2 - hellfire and bubblebath.

 


	2. hellfire and bubble bath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hershey is the oddball son of Juliet the Hellhound. He's no good at dragging souls down to Hell. Retraining him doesn't go well and he ends up living on the mean streets topside. One night Hershey meets a wayward Knight of Hell named Dean Winchester. Up now: Hershey expects the worst after Dean rescues him.

I didn't open my eyes again, not even when the car stopped. I heard sounds. Metal clicking and moving. The car moved forward again for a few feet and then stopped rumbling altogether. Doors creaked open and then closed. Paper rustled. The smell of cooked meat got the tip of my tail wagging again.

The demon lifted me up and carried me. I stayed limp. I kept my eyes closed to whatever was going to happen next.

Where ever this was didn't smell like Hell. No sulfur stench. The air was warm. I mean comfortable warm, not hellish warm. It was dry too. We were out of the rain. Another rustle of paper and the good food smell faded out. We walked a little further and the demon put me down. This surface was smooth and slick. It was cool against my foot pads. My legs slipped out from underneath me and I collapsed onto my belly again.

Well, this was it then.

I waited for my death.

And I waited.

Nothing happened.

I opened my eyes just enough to see.

I was in a small pit. At least that's what I thought it was at first. The walls were slick. The color was light blue. I saw a silver metal ring in front of me at the bottom and something silver and shiny above that. For a moment I didn't recognize any of this. Then it hit me.

I was in a tub. A bathtub.

Well. This must be some new demon thing topside. It was easier I guess. He could put me out of my misery in the tub and just wash the blood away down the drain, the walls and the floor.

I glanced up. The Knight took off his wet brown jacket and hung it up on a hook on the door. He turned to the sink and picked up a white plastic bottle. He saw me looking at him and his eyes softened. I didn't like that.

The demon reached up and grabbed the long silver hose that hung on the wall above the faucet. He knelt down beside me with the bottle in his other hand.

This was it. I closed my eyes.

The next thing I felt was warm water. All over me. Some of the water went into my nose. I jerked my head up. My eyes went big as saucers as I sneezed and struggled to my feet.

"Easy now. Easy."

I glared at him. What kind of sick, twisted thing was this? I didn't need any more water. I was soaked to the bone already.

He laid the hose down over the edge of the tub. Then he flipped open the cap on the bottle and squirted something out onto my fur. The stuff from the bottle smelled like flowers. He massaged the liquid into my wet fur with his fingertips. I turned my head. Saw bubbles and white suds all over my body.

"Dude, you reek."

I whined, low and deep in my throat. I couldn't help it. He was giving me a bath? _A bath?_ This was embarrassing. I used to take pride in keeping myself clean.

"You were out there a long time. I can see your ribs." He rubbed the shampoo all over into my fur as he talked. "Living on the streets is tough. I've been there." I didn't know whether he was saying those things just to hear himself talk. I couldn't imagine a Knight of Hell wandering around lost out there.

His hands never stopped moving. I relaxed so much I stared into space. Everything was a blur. I didn't close up inside myself. It wasn't like that. For the first time in a long while being touched didn't hurt. I drifted off. I imagined myself snuggled up to my mom as she nuzzled me with her nose. "I love you, sweetie."

When his hands touched my face I didn't react. He rubbed the shampoo all over, under my jaw and muzzle, up the bridge of my nose, between my eyes and my ears. Dirt and grime loosened and fell off. Warm water flowed over my body. I came back to myself just as the demon stood up with the hose in his hand. He leaned over and turned the water off. I shook myself off from head to tail. It's a dog thing, all right? Water flew everywhere.

"Yeah, I knew that was coming." Was he laughing at me? Sounded like he was but I wasn't sure. He turned and pulled a big orange bath towel off a rack nearby. He put the towel over me from my head to my butt. I couldn't see.

That's when things went bad.

Something thumped between my eyes. A boot heel.

_"Bad dog!"_

My head rocked back.

_"You stupid mutt!"_

I jerked to the side again and I heard myself moan words out loud.

"Stop hitting me."

I couldn't see anything except orange and red. They kicked me over and over again and they wouldn't stop.

"I'll...I'll be a good boy. Please..."

They just wouldn't stop.

"STOP IT! STOP HURTING ME!"

My body temperature flared up. The air filled with black ash in a heartbeat. The towel burned up and I was completely dry. I skittered backwards until my butt hit the back of the tub. My paws slipped and slid on the slick wet bottom. I raised my head. My tail bushed out as I bared my teeth.

I was a bad dog. I wanted to hurt them all back.

The Knight jerked his hands back so fast he was a blur. His fingertips turned red and raw but then healed up in an eye blink.

I shook my head. The yelling and the blows echoed inside my skull and then faded away. This was a memory. He hadn't hurt me. But having that towel over my head triggered the badness. My body and my mind couldn't tell the difference.

We stared at each other for a long moment. He looked angry. He was going to start yelling. He was going to hit me. Hurt me. Demons and humans don't like bad dogs. They lie with their eyes. They can make their eyes look soft and harmless. But not their hands. Their hands move, they ball up into fists. I can always tell when they're ready to hit.

"Who did this to you?" The funny sounding growl in his voice deepened.

Damn. I didn't just think about that memory, I screamed it out loud enough so that the demon saw what happened inside my head. And he heard what I said out loud. The feelings that flowed out of him were all mixed up together. Anger and sadness. That felt weird to me. He was mad at the ones who hurt me. He felt sad for me.

I don't know why.

I hung my head. I couldn't answer. The walls inside me came up again. When he didn't hit or scream at me my hindquarters shook and I thumped down onto my ass. Why was he being so nice to me? When was he going to hit me?

Another long moment of silence, then he sighed. "Well, I never liked that towel anyway."

I stared at my feet.

"I'm not gonna hit you. And I'm not gonna hurt you. Not now, not ever, y'hear me?"

I didn't believe him. They lie with their voices too.

"Bath time's over. Can you walk?"

I didn't answer.

"Okay then. I'll carry you."

I didn't struggle as he picked me up and walked out the bathroom.

We were in a house all along. There was a stairway leading upstairs on the left. I saw other rooms. Furniture. Pictures on the walls. At the end of the hallway was the living room. A big screen tv sat in the corner, near the window.

I wanted to wiggle out of his arms and jump down to the floor but I didn't. I knew he'd stop me if I did, so I willed myself to stay still. I wanted to run away. Houses are bad. Closed in places full of loud voices, pain and fear. The street wasn't much better but at least there it was wide open. I could always run.

The Knight laid me down on a couch. A big brown one. It felt comfortable. Soft.

I slid down on my belly again.

He frowned at me. "Please don't nuke my couch. I really _really_ like this couch. Be good, okay?"

I didn't move until he walked out of the room.

My legs wobbled as I stood up and jumped down to the floor. The fur on my body stood out straight and painful. I didn't like being out in the open like that, trapped inside a house. I could have smashed through the front door and run away. I don't know why I didn't. Instead I ran around the corner of the couch. My belly scraped the floor.

The space between the couch and the wall was big enough for me to fit.

Good place. Safe place.

I pushed my head into the corner and closed my eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: The cheeseburgers of angst


	3. the cheeseburgers of angst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hershey's having a lot of trouble adjusting to his new life. Dean knows the way to an abused hellhound's heart is probably through his stomach. These two are definitely not sweating the cholesterol.

Moments later I heard footsteps. The demon walked into the room. The food smell became stronger.

My stomach rumbled. _Food._

My tail wagged slowly back and forth. _Food._

_Stop that._

My ears pricked up. My tail wouldn't stop wagging. And to make matters worse, my mouth started watering.

I was hungry. I wanted to eat.

He sat down on the couch. Something clicked and the tv came on. Paper rustled. The food smell became so strong I couldn't stop my mouth from watering.

I opened my eyes and backed out of the corner. I sat there on my haunches staring up at the back of the couch. I could see the back of the green-eyed demon's head. Heard crunching sounds. He was eating. Maybe he was having a snack before he killed me? Maybe.

I eased over to the back of the couch. It wouldn't hurt to have a look, would it? I raised up on my hind legs, put my front paws on the top of the couch. I looked over.

The demon had different clothes on. They were dry. He had a cheeseburger in his right hand. My mouth watered as he took a large bite. It smelled good. That burger had everything on it. Crispy pickles, onions and bacon slices. Gooey cheese, crunchy lettuce, creamy mayo. Thick juicy meat. A soft fresh bun. With sesame seeds.

I groaned out loud as I sank back down on my butt.

My stomach rumbled. _Food. Gimme. GIMME!_

I raised up again. Well. I wouldn't mind dying with a full stomach. A condemned man always gets one last meal. I knew that from the stories I'd heard about humans topside. Wouldn't the same thing apply to a condemned hellhound? I hoped so. I already had a bath. Maybe I could get some food too.

The demon held a remote in his other hand. The tv switched from one channel to another. The evening news disappeared and men on horses rode across the screen. Cowboys.

"Hey. Want some?" the Knight said. He turned towards me and held something up right in front of my nose."We're not sweating the cholesterol around here."

Food! My ears went straight up. He had a piece of burger in his hand.

My belly rumbled again. Damn thing wouldn't shut up. I reared back and opened and closed my mouth several times. Meat, bread and cheese. It smelled so good!

"You can have this piece. Don't bite me, okay?"

I leaned forward and gently took the burger out of his hand. I leaned back and took my time as I chewed and swallowed. It tasted just as good as it smelled.

He grinned at me. "Nice work. I've still got all my fingers." My tail wagged madly and I woofed. _More, please_.

The Knight reached into the white bag on the table beside him. He had another wrapped up burger in his hand. He held it in front of my nose and moved it back and forth. Oh, the food smells made me dizzy! I swayed back and forth in time with the motion of his hand. Then I leaned forward and tried to snap it up with my jaws.

He pulled the burger back out of my reach. "Not so fast."

I blinked, confused.

"These are yours." He pulled another cheeseburger out of the white bag and placed them both down on the seat beside him, one on top of the other. "But you gotta come out and get 'em."

 _Eat us,_ the burgers said. _You know you wanna, big boy. Eat us. EAT! US!_

I groaned out loud. Shook my head over and over again as my legs trembled and I sank back down on my haunches behind the couch.

No. I couldn't go out there. I just couldn't.

My stomach growled again. Louder this time, hard enough to rattle my spine.

_FEEEEED MEEEE!_

_All right then. Fine!_

I crawled over to the corner of the couch. Nothing happened. My stomach howled and growled. I hugged the side of the couch as I slunk around the corner. No death from above. Not yet, anyway. So far, so good.

I looked up. The demon reached into the white bag on the table next to him and pulled out another cheeseburger. He unwrapped it and took a bite.

He never looked at me, but I knew he saw me. I raised up and I grabbed both cheeseburgers with my mouth and dropped back down on all fours. I turned and ran back behind the couch.

The Knight chuckled to himself. "Baby steps."

I didn't even bother dropping the burgers on the floor. I sat down and gulped them down whole, wrapper and all.

Ahhh, they were delicious! I licked the grease off my lips.

Good, my stomach rumbled. _NEED MORE. NOW!_

_Damn._

I heard more paper rustle out front, so I crawled back around to the front. When I looked up again I saw an unwrapped burger sitting on the couch. Another burger was stacked on top of the unwrapped one. There was a handful of French fries on the wrapper beside them. And a brown glass bottle next to that.

I sniffed the air. There was beer in the bottle.

I like beer.

I slid around the front of the couch again. When I raised up I used both paws this time. I bundled the burgers and fries up in the wrapper. I picked up the bottle. The glass felt slick and cold against my finger pads.

I stared at the demon the whole time. He ignored me. The skin around the corners of his eyes and mouth crinkled up a little, like he was trying not to smile. He didn't move, didn't try to hurt me. He just sat there eating and watching tv. I saw half naked human females bouncing a big multi-colored ball back and forth over a white net. They were on a beach somewhere.

I cradled my food to my chest with my right paw. I held the bottle in my left. I bent low and skittered on two legs back behind the couch.

My stomach rumbled again as I set my food down. _FEED ME! MORE!_

I put the wrapper down, pulled the metal cap off the bottle with my teeth, swallowed it and drank the beer fast. It was cold and burned in a good way going down.

Everything was hot and fresh, just as good as the first burgers were. I didn't just eat my food. I inhaled it. Ate the wrapper too.

After I finished I stood up on my hind legs, reached over the top of the couch and put the empty bottle back on the seat. I didn't know if that was the right thing to do or not but it didn't feel right to leave the bottle behind the couch.

The demon still ignored me.

Afterwards I laid down on my belly. I was full. I could face whatever was going to happen now. It was nice and peaceful behind the couch. My body felt like a wire that was stretched out too tight but now I could finally relax. The noise from the tv faded in and out. I didn't lower my head but I closed my eyes. I zoned out.

"Dude."

That startled me. When I opened my eyes and looked up there was the Knight. He was on his knees on the couch facing backwards. He rested his elbows on the top of the couch and he held my empty bottle in his right hand. He looked friendly.

All I could do was stare up at him with my mouth open. Finally I heard myself say, "Are you - are you Cain?"

He shook his head. "My name's Dean. What's yours?"

For a moment I went blank. I couldn't remember. Then: "My name's Hershey."

He laughed but I didn't think he was laughing at me. "Hershey? You mean like the chocolate?"

"Uh huh." I nodded. "My mom named me."

"That's nice. My mom gave me my name too." We stared at each other for a long moment. Was he going to hurt me now?

"Look, the back door's open if you need to answer nature's call. Leave if you want. Stay if you want. The couch is all yours." He shrugged. "Your call."

He pushed up from the couch and walked out of the room. The light clicked off. That didn't bother me. I can see quite well in the dark.

Five minutes later I needed to pee.

I kept low as I slunk through the kitchen. My claws made clicking sounds on the hardwood floors and the tile. I raised up on two legs, turned the knob and the back door swung open. I dropped back down on all fours and pushed the door open with my left shoulder.

The rain clouds overhead had a lot of holes in them. I could see the stars. I lifted my head and breathed in cool air. I walked over to a nearby tree and raised my right leg. After I was finished I sat down.

I didn't know what to think. Did I want to stay? Or go? I still didn't trust any of this. Or that Dean either. He seemed nice enough.

But I'd let my guard down before.

The yard was large. Trees and grass. I smelled water. There was a large pool back there too. It was surrounded by tan stones. The fence surrounding the back yard was a tall wooden one. I could've easily jumped over or smashed through it. I didn't.

One night here wouldn't matter, would it? I could leave in the morning. Slip out the back and over the fence.

I turned around and padded back into the house. I closed the door behind me. My ears pricked upright as I heard light tapping noises. As far as I could tell I was alone on that floor. The sounds were coming from upstairs.

I slunk up the stairs and I stopped when I reached the top. The second floor was carpeted. More rooms. There was a light on in the middle room and the door was open halfway. I cocked my head to one side, then I eased up to the doorway but I didn't stick my head in.

Dean sat on his bed with this big blue laptop on his lap. He didn't look up. I backed away from the door, turned and headed for the stairs. The carpet was soft and thick underneath my paws. I didn't make any noise and that made me feel better.

"Good night, Hershey."

Damn. He knew I was out there!

I didn't answer.

I ran down the stairs into the living room and hid behind the couch again. I curled up on my side but the floor was too hard. I couldn't get comfortable. Funny I didn't notice that before. I tried lying on my belly. No good. I grunted as I stretched out on my side. That didn't work either.

I sat up with a growl. To hell with this. Well, Dean did say I could sleep on the couch, didn't he?

I came out and jumped up onto the seat. Huh. Nice cushions. Not too soft, not too firm. Just right. I circled around twice and laid down. This wasn't bad, Not bad at all. It wouldn't hurt to stretch out all the way, would it? I rolled over on my side. I took a breath, then another. I wouldn't go to sleep. I could stay awake until the morning and when I saw the sky outside lighten up through the windows I'd leave out the back door and jump over the fence.

Well, that was my plan, anyway.

My eyelids were too heavy to keep open. So I closed them.

No harm in that, right? I could rest my eyes.

Just for a moment.

I don't remember much after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Hershey meets the neighborhood snoop. Sam comes to visit.


	4. nosy rabbit, angry bigfoot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hershey meets the neighborhood snoop. Sam and Castiel come to visit. Typical Winchester drama.

My nose woke up first.

The smell was wonderful. Warm and juicy. My mouth watered. I made noises as I imagined myself eating. Then I realized I wasn't really eating anything.

I opened my eyes.

I lay on my back, stretched out with my paws up in the air. I blinked a little. Then I remembered. This was all wrong. I didn't mean to oversleep. I meant to leave as soon as it got light outside. I turned my head so I could look out the window by the front door. It was light outside, all right. The sun was out. It was morning already.

Dean stood over me. I didn't like that but he had a plate in each hand. The plates were piled high with food. I sniffed the air. My stomach growled so hard my belly hurt.

"Hey, Hershey."

"Uh...hi."

"You ready to eat?"

I nodded.

"Okay. We've got bacon and eggs. All you can eat. And pie for later. Apple pie. I didn't make it but it's still pretty damn good. Scoot over, dude."

I sat up and Dean put the plate down on the couch beside me. Then he sat down too. My tail wagged back and forth. I couldn't stop it, but I didn't feel right about this. Eating, out here in the open? Was he going to take it away from me? Make fun of me while I ate? I lowered my head and sniffed at the food. I didn't eat. Dean didn't notice at first.

He had a fork in his right hand and he shoveled the bacon and eggs into his mouth. I had my head down and my eyes up as I stared at him. He put the fork down just long enough to pick up the remote and aim it at the tv. The morning news came on. Then he picked up the fork again and started eating again.

I still hadn't eaten. Finally he stopped and looked at me. "Something wrong?"

'No."

"Did you want sausage instead? I've got pork sausage if you want."

"No. This...this is fine." My tongue darted out and I licked at the scrambled eggs. They melted in my mouth. Oh, the taste made my front legs tremble. It was good!

Dean watched me for a few more seconds and then his attention was divided again between his plate and the tv.

I didn't come up for air until the bacon and eggs were all gone. The next thing I knew I'd licked the plate all nice and shiny.

Dean grinned at me. His plate was clean too. "Want some more?"

My tail thumped once. My stomach grumbled. _MORE!_

"Yes, please."

"Okay." Dean stood up with his plate in his hand. He scooped mine up. "Be right back."

He disappeared into the kitchen. He was gone a little longer than I expected. I laid back down on the couch. On the tv humans sat around talking about boring stuff. I didn't pay that much attention. The smells that came out of the kitchen were different. I lifted my nose into the air and sniffed long and hard. The scents were sweeter. Heavier.

Dean came back. The food on our plates was different. The pancakes were stacked high and smothered in maple syrup and butter. I saw a large pile of pork sausage on the plate too.

I sat up and Dean put my plate down beside me. "Here you go."

I stared bug-eyed at the plate. All this food? _For me?_ The last time I had this much food two days in a row I was home with my mom. Pickings had been pretty slim since then.

Dean sat down again. "Eat up, dude. Damn the cholesterol."

I still didn't know what cholesterol was and I didn't care. I dug in.

Later on we had apple pie. It was good.

* * *

 

Two hours later we watched a movie that was in black and white. It was about a big lizard who roared and breathed fire. He came out of the ocean and stomped around on land. Humans screamed and yelled as they ran away from him.

"Who is that?"

Dean smirked. "That's Godzilla. He's the King of the Monsters."

"He is?'

"Yep. This your first time, huh?"

I nodded and stared at the big screen. Godzilla didn't seem afraid or angry, but he liked to smash buildings and set things on fire. This was different from anything I'd ever seen. I stared at the screen. My body relaxed. I didn't think about me or anything bad that happened to me.

Dean turned to me with a smile. "You wanna go for a walk after this?"

"No." I laid my ears back. My body went completely stiff. All I could think of was If I go back out there they'll find me. They'll hurt me for running away.

"Oh. Okay. How about a ride in the car? We could go to the beach."

My insides felt jittery, like drops of water on a red hot iron. "I don't wanna" I heard myself say.

Dean's smile faded a little. I hated to see that but I didn't care. He leaned forward with both elbows on his knees, then tapped the fingertips of his hands together. "How about Petsmart?"

I'd never heard of this Petsmart place before. The feeling I got from Dean when he talked about it was good. No pain or fear. I lifted my head, pricked my ears up a little. "What's that?"

"You'll love it. Big place full of dog toys and treats. You can walk around inside. A lot of pets go there. Cats, birds, guinea pigs. Hamsters. Not that you're a pet though. We'd have to get you a leash as a cover..."

Suddenly I wasn't interested in the movie. I didn't get up, but I turned my head away from it. I stared at the far wall instead. I wanted to go hide behind the couch.

I flinched as a bad memory rose up inside me.

_"Stupid mutt! Now you're going to get it!"_

That day the others hit me in my face with a metal choke chain. They hit me so hard I had raised stripes across my muzzle. I was sore for a week.

The memory went away but the bad feeling inside me didn't.

I cringed. My ears went down.

Dean's eyes widened as he leaned back against the couch. I'd done it again. I'd broadcasted the bad stuff inside my head. I couldn't help it. I didn't want him to see that.

"Hershey," Dean said slowly. "Dude. I know somebody out there hurt you. You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't deserve any of that. And nobody's going to hurt you while I'm around. I don't know how I can make you believe that."

I didn't say anything. I didn't say anything because he was right. No matter how kind he was to me, I didn't believe him. I couldn't.

But I did wonder why I stayed if I felt that way.

Dean frowned, and at first I thought he was frowning at me. I didn't realize what was really going on at first. He scowled again as he turned in the direction of the front door. "Sonofabitch," Dean muttered. "What the hell does _he_ want?"

There was a knock on the door.

I didn't react as Dean stood up and walked over to the door. By the time I realized I should hide it was too late. I don't know why I thought I should hide. I just did.

Dean opened the door. "Yeah, Thompkins. What can I do you out of today?"

The man on the other side was older, softer. He wasn't as tall as Dean. He didn't have a lot of hair on the top of his head, only the sides, around his ears. He'd combed a couple of the longer hairs over the bare skin on his head. That looked funny. I mean odd. He reminded me of a rabbit. He had pale pink skin and his nose twitched. He wore a pair of round glasses that made his eyes look really large. When the door swung open he stared past Dean into the living room. He saw me.

I froze. It was too late to jump down and hide behind the couch. The rabbit man blinked. His mouth dropped open.

I knew he was seeing me as I really am, a huge black German Shepherd with blue eyes. I didn't want him to see me. The way he looked at me hurt my skin. I had to do something, so I Changed. Dean had his back to me.

The rabbit --I mean, the human -- kept right on staring. "Um..."

"Well?"

"That's a...that's a really weird...I mean nice little Yorkie you've got, Winchester."

"Yorkie?" Dean sounded puzzled. He turned around and saw me. His eyes widened. He saw my trueform and the Yorkie illusion at the same time.

Dean stared at me and then he said slowly "Uh...yeah. Yeah he is." He turned back to look at the rabbit man. "His name's Angus."

"Angus?"

"Yep. I named him after Angus Young." The rabbit stared at Dean. He didn't know what any of that meant. "The lead singer of Metallica?"

"Oh. Never heard of him."

"That figures," Dean told him. "What do you want?"

"You have two dogs over here?"

Dean's voice took on an edge. "I might. And since when is that any of your damn business?"

Rabbit man kept staring at me. He didn't seem to hear that Dean cursed at him. That was when I realized that I cast the illusion all wrong. Maybe it was because I was scared and nervous. The rabbit man might be one of those humans who could see me no matter what. He kept staring and I knew that he saw my German Shepherd trueform and the Yorkie illusion at the same time, one inside the other.

"That's odd," the rabbit murmured.

"Hey, Thompkins?" Dean waved his hand in front of the man's face. He was enjoying this. "I'm over here, dude."

He finally looked at Dean. His nose twitched like he was smelling something bad. I got it then. He thought he was better than Dean. The rabbit man didn't like him. He pretended but he didn't, not really.

I didn't like the rabbit man. I raised my head and growled, low and deep in my throat.

He blinked. "Did he...did he just growl at me?"

"He might have. He's feisty like that. Go on."

"Well, uh, I was up in my bedroom last night and I thought I saw a big black dog in your backyard."

Dean didn't like the rabbit any more than I did. His smile was more like he was baring his teeth. "Oh. You did, did you?"

"I did. Uh...Edna didn't allow the last tenants to keep pets. That's why they moved out. So, ummm...you might have a problem."

I lifted my head, stared at him and yawned. Really, really wide. I usually do that when I feel nervous but I knew the rabbit man wouldn't know that. All he would see was the big black dog and the little Yorkie.

And lots and lots of teeth.

It worked. He jerked back.

Dean rumbled laughter. "Yeah that would be a problem. Except that I bought the place from Edna six months ago."

The rabbit's eyes grew wide as saucers. "You-you did?"

"Yeah. I did. So whatever goes on here is my business, not yours." Dean jerked his right thumb at me. "He's not going anywhere. Anything else?"

"Well..no."

"Nice talking to you." Dean closed the door in the man's face. I heard the rabbit man call out through the door "Well, uh, you too!" His footsteps faded as he walked away.

The Yorkie illusion fell away from me. I was glad to let it go.

Dean rolled his eyes and grumbled to himself as he walked back to the couch and sat down. "Yeah yeah, whatever. I bet he was hanging out the second story window with a pair of night vision binoculars."

He turned and looked me up and down. "Nice trick with the Yorkie thing."

I felt weird, like I was exposed somehow.

"No worries. That's Virgil Thompkins. The neighborhood snoop. He's also the reason the last family moved out. When I moved in the first thing I did was put that privacy fence up. He's probably calling Edna right now to see if I really do own this house." Dean laughed. "I wish I could be a fly on the wall for that one. She doesn't like him."

"She doesn't?"

"You just met him and you didn't like him either. Nobody does. She'll probably cuss him out for calling her in the first place."

"He saw me last night." My ears drooped.

Dean shook his head. "You didn't do anything wrong, Hershey. He saw you. So what? You live here. That sonofabitch doesn't."

My ears pricked when he said that. I felt warm inside. The good kind of warm, not the bad.

* * *

That Godzilla sure did make a lot of movies.

Dean told me that this was a "tv marathon." I don't know what that is but I liked it. Some of the movies were in black and white. Some of them were in color. I liked the one with the big ape too. Humans running around screaming, big explosions, a lot of roaring and smashing stuff up. What's not to like?

I felt good. Safe. So I moved closer and put my head on Dean's knee. I didn't know if he was going to jerk away from me or tell me to get the hell off him. He didn't. After a couple of minutes his hand came up and skritched me underneath my right ear. Long and slow. My tail wagged and my right hind leg thumped. I couldn't help it. I grinned from ear to ear. We sat there watching the lizard and the big monkey and then wouldn't you just know it? I had to pee. Damn.

I put it off for as long as I could. Then I scrambled off the couch and headed for the back door.

After I finished in the back yard I sat there staring at the pool. Sunlight made the water move and sparkle. Wind blew through the trees and the grass.

I felt something, but I didn't know what it was. Not at first. Then I knew.

I was at peace.

I didn't want to go anywhere. I wasn't sure if the bad stuff was still inside my head, but I didn't want to stop feeling this way.

I lifted my head and scented the air. This house was home. It felt like home. I wanted to live here. With Dean.

I turned around and went back inside.

I heard voices as I padded through the kitchen.

"I just thought I'd come by, you know? Check up on you. See how you're doing."

I didn't know that voice.

I stopped and cocked my head to one side. I started walking again when I heard Dean's voice.

"Dude, good to see you. Sit down! Let me get you a beer."

Dean is here. It's okay, I told myself. As long as he's here it'll be okay.

I stopped in the doorway of the living room and it wasn't okay. Not anymore.

Dean stood by the front door. The man next to him was very tall. Taller and a little younger than Dean. He had shaggy brown hair. I smelled the family connection between them.

Dean smiled at me. "Hershey, this is my brother. Sam."

I cleared my throat. "Hello."

Sam's mouth firmed into a thin hard line. He stared at me. Anger rolled off him in waves. "Dean, what is _this_? Where'd this _thing_ come from?" I knew that look. He saw my trueform.

Dean looked confused. "Thing? What are you talking about?|"

I glanced down at Sam's hands. They were balled up into fists. He wanted to hit me.

He hated me. Hated the sight of me.

So I hated him back.

I couldn't help myself. My hackles rose up around my neck as I crouched down. I growled, showed him my teeth.

_Hurt him_ , the bad stuff inside my head whispered. _Hurt him before he hurts you first._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 is next.


	5. point of no return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean flexes his mojo as a Knight of Hell, much to Sam's displeasure. There's plenty of Sam Winchester bitchface to go around. During a quiet moment Hershey discovers that Dean has a secret. What happens next could destroy any chance Hershey might have of having a good life with Dean.

The brother's eyes were hard and cold. He stuck his chin out.

The rumble of my growl was like thunder. It filled me up from head to tail. Blood red lightning flashed in my eyes, My jaws dripped white foam. Orange flames danced from the tips of my coal black fur.

I leaped up. In my mind I could already taste his soft flesh in my jaws.

Dean stepped between us.

I couldn't stop myself in time. My jaws snapped shut on empty air. All my spit dried up. Dean's arms closed around my body. Everything around me slowed down and I knew Dean was holding me not only with his arms but his power too. This wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to hurt the brother. Not Dean. I put both paws against his chest. I squirmed. I tried to get down but nothing I did worked. The fire in my eyes and my fur went cold.

Underneath Dean's right sleeve the Mark of Cain flashed fiery orange. A chair appeared out of thin air next to his brother. The night before I saw that same chair in one of the rooms upstairs.

The younger one jerked back. "Dean?"

"Sit your ass down," Dean snapped.

Well, this was interesting. Sam went rigid. I tilted my head to one side and watched as a wave of force flowed over his body. The energy signature was Dean's. Sam was caught. He didn't want to sit down but he did. Dean made him and held him there in the chair.

The Mark flared up again. We weren't in the living room anymore. We stood in the middle of the backyard by the pool, underneath the midday sun.

"You done?" Dean quirked an eyebrow at me. "Calm down."

I nodded.

"Good."

Something fluttered in the air in front of us. I turned my head, growled deep in my throat.

"Sonofabitch," Dean snarled. He shifted my weight against his chest, cradled my butt in the crook of his left arm. His right arm shot straight out and up, his fingers curled like a claw.

"Aaacckkk-"

The air filled with dark sooty wings.

Dean had a pigeon by the throat. This one was a man. Dark hair, startled blue eyes. He wore a wrinkled tan coat, a dark suit and tie. He was on his tiptoes at first but Dean lifted him off the ground so high his feet dangled. His wings drooped.

"Hello Dean," the angel squeaked. I laid my ears back, lifted a corner of my muzzle and showed him my eyeteeth. He would make a fine chew toy. I don't like pigeons. There's that whole Hell versus Heaven thing, remember?

"Cas," Dean nodded.

"Sam and I...we mean you no harm..."

"No shit." Dean didn't look convinced. He tightened his grip. The pigeon's back arched and his eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"We want to help you..."

"I told you before I don't need your damn help."

"Dean, please..."

"Go home, Cas. And don't ever come back here." The pigeon disappeared, but not because he wanted to.

"Oh, crap," Dean whispered.

"What?" I looked around. I didn't see anything at first. I looked up, over the fence, at the house next door.

The rabbit man was in the second floor window. His eyes looked even bigger than before. He was pale and his mouth was a round O of surprise. He had a pair of binoculars in his left hand. I could tell from the look on his face that he saw everything.

"Oh no." My ears drooped. I wanted to hide, especially when I realized that I spoke human words out loud and he saw my mouth move. His eyes widened.

Dean huffed. "Might as well give him something to look at." He waved at the rabbit. Power flexed in the air all around us.

We were back in the living room.

Sam sat frozen in his chair. He smelled mad, sad and scared all at once. Sadness tastes sour. Heavy. The other two scents are hot and spiky. There was something else about him that caused me to sneeze. I couldn't figure out what it was but the inside of my mouth tasted like metal and the scent made the inside of my nose numb. Sneezing didn't help much to clear my nose.

Dean turned and put me on the couch. "Okay. You stay there."

As soon as my paws touched down I hopped over the side and landed on the floor between the couch and the wall. I didn't want to be out in the open but I wanted to see what was going to happen. I laid down with my head on my paws.

_See? Couch, right?_ I tried to look innocent.

Dean shook his head at me. "I meant _on_ the couch."

I chuffed and looked wide eyed.

"I'm not buying that dumb dog act."

Dean sat down. I still didn't know what was going on. I thought he would have been mad at everyone but he wasn't. Instead he looked at his brother fondly. "Not having a very good day are ya, Sasquatch?"

Sam moved just enough to clench his jaw tight. His hands were fists.

"I get it. You and Cas figured you'd swoop in here, cuff me and drag me off for my own good. But you didn't count on Hershey being here. You got rattled and Cas got sloppy out there in the yard. I sent him back home and you're busted, junior. That's what I got so far. How am I doing?"

Sam didn't answer.

"Can I get you anything? Beer?" A cold bottle of beer appeared in Dean's right hand.

Sam glared at him. His nostrils flared.

"No? How about a burger?" The bottle disappeared, only to be replaced with a cold cheeseburger in a white wrapper. I lifted my nose and sniffed the air.

I thought hard at Dean. _Gimme. He doesn't want it._

The burger disappeared.

I didn't get to eat it. _Damn._

Sam's eyes were flat and angry. His mouth was a hard thin line. He didn't like seeing Dean use his power.

Dean seemed not to notice. "You came bearing gifts so I figure ponying up some grub is the least I can do. There's a pair of silver handcuffs engraved with devil's traps in your right front jeans pocket. And a silver flask of holy water in your left. For me? I'm flattered. No, really, I am."

Sam's eyes softened, became large and round. That reminded me of the way we pups would look when we were in trouble with the adults. _I'm harmless_ , that look said.

"Dude, I'm not buying the puppy dog eyes either." Dean's eyes narrowed. "And what's this?"

The front of Sam's shirt ripped and then pulled open.

I leaned forward with my ears pricked. Watching the brothers was better than watching television. He had sigils on his chest. They were dark blue. I'd never seen anything like that before.

I sneezed. Then I sneezed again.

Dean glanced at me. He turned back to his brother with a smile. "Nice tats. Looks like Hershey's got a nose for whatever the hell that is on your skin. I don't know what it does and I don't intend to find out. I've got you stuck in that chair with demon super glue." He tapped his forehead with one finger. "Nice trick, huh? If you wanna talk, then we can talk. But if you sprout Latin when I unfreeze you I'll kick your ass so hard and fast it'll make your head spin. Blink if you're gonna behave yourself. "

Sam blinked.

"Okay then. Let's hear it."

Sam took a deep breath. "Dean, this isn't you. None of this is. The powers you have. Living with a hellhound—"

I lifted my head and growled at him. The way he said 'hellhound' sounded nasty.

Dean flicked a glance at me. _Stop that._

I grunted. But I shut up.

"Duh. Thanks for the newsflash, Captain Obvious. He's a hellhound. So?"

"So? Don't you remember being dragged down to hell by one of those things? How could you let something like that into your house?"

I gave Sam another dirty look.

Dean sighed. "I remember. Hershey's not that hound. He wasn't even born then. He's Juliet's son. And I'm not Crowley's bitch."

My ears went up. He knew all along who my mom is?

Dean didn't notice my reaction. I closed my mouth and laid my head back down.

"You're not in your right mind," Sam grated out. "And I won't stop trying to bring you home."

Dean slowly rolled up his right sleeve to expose the Mark of Cain. "This isn't going anywhere. Ever. I've learned to live with it. You can believe me or not. I don't give a damn which. I'm not broken and I don't need to be fixed."

Sam's face twisted up again. He hated the sight of the Mark just like he hated me. His sadness turned to fear and anger. I could smell it on him, so strong it made my teeth ache.

He glared at Dean. "I'll never stop trying."

"Yeah," Dean said quietly. "I don't think you will."

"What are you going to do?"

"Do? For starters I'm gonna send you home."

"I'll come back. I'll always come-"

"Goodbye, Sam."

Sam vanished. I wasn't sorry to see him go.

Dean leaned forward with both elbows on his knees. He scrubbed both hands over his face, through his hair and down his neck. He stayed that way as he stared at the floor, then he slowly sat back.

The chair disappeared. It went back where it belonged.

* * *

Dean was quiet. I'd never seen him that way. He was always moving, always talking. He was lively. Not this time. He sat there with this blank look on his face. I couldn't read him. I didn't get anything from him at all. I'd never been around a demon like that.

Or a human, for that matter.

I jumped up on the couch. I padded over and sat next to him. Then I climbed onto his lap.

Well, only my upper half fit, but that was okay. I'm a very large hound, remember?

I didn't say anything. I thought about asking him why he picked me up that night. I didn't. Maybe there was time for that later. Right then I sensed that I needed to be quiet. Maybe he needed me just as much as I needed him, when I was afraid and he was there for me.

Dean didn't say anything. We just sat there. His walls were up. I felt him breathe in and out. I laid my head on his knee. And I waited.

I felt his sadness first. It leaked out a little at a time in a rough whisper inside my mind.

_I wanted to tell him._

I had no way of knowing if he even knew I was there. I didn't say anything.

_He wouldn't have believed me..._

He was completely open to me now.

_When the Mark brought me back it twisted my soul. A month later my soul decided to fight back. It didn't twist up all the way._

I listened.

_I wanted to die but those sonsofbitches wouldn't let me. I was out of my head. Sick. Delirious. I lived on the streets for months._

Dean's eyes were unfocused, as though he saw something that no one else could see.

No one but me. I couldn't tell where he ended and I began. I didn't care.

We wandered the streets together. Shaggy. Ragged, wild-eyed. Hiding from people. He didn't understand what was happening to him. His eyes turned green one moment, black the next. He howled as the pain overtook him. I howled too.

And one night he tried to kill himself. He sat out in the rain.

Just like I did the night he found me.

_We sat out there together, out in the open. It was a parking lot somewhere. The wind shrieked and the rain from Heaven came down. Lightning lit up the dark sky overhead as bright as day._

_Dean was soaked to the bone. The rags clung to his body. He knelt there with his head down, soaked to the bone. Waiting._

_The Mark of Cain on his right arm glowed like a burning ember. A bright white orb pulsed slowly beneath his chest. I couldn't understand what it was at first. His ribs were a cage around it. Then I realized that the light was Dean's soul. It darkened every other heartbeat, but it never darkened completely._

_That made the Mark angry. It glowed brighter._

_Maybe I should have backed off then. I didn't. Maybe if I had none of the bad stuff would have happened._

_The fur on my hackles rose up stiff and painful. We weren't alone out there. I wasn't fast enough to move out of the way. My head jerked hard to the left as I was hit. I went down hard. My back legs went numb, but I could still feel the ground underneath my paws._

_"You damn mutt."_

_I blinked the rain out of my eyes._

_The woman was there. She was just as big and broad as I remembered. My insides grew cold just looking at her. Her trueform darkened the air around her human form. Her horns were short and broken. Her true face was a long pointed skull dotted with holes. The club in her hand was iron forged in hell. One end of the club ended in a long jagged hook. There were bits of dog flesh and fur caught in the cracks that ran from end to end. I knew some of that fur and blood was mine._

_"Get your ass over here and kneel, hound. Now."_

_I whimpered at first. For a moment I was just a pup again. She was the mistress. King Crowley sent me topside so she could train me. I was a rotten no good hound and she would help me become good and useful. They knew better than I did, didn't they?_

_"Come on! Get over here. I don't have all night."_

_Maybe I would have slunk over to her like a whipped dog. Maybe._

_But then I glanced at Dean. He was still on his knees a few feet away. His face and eyes blank and unseeing, but he was still the brightest thing there. He was kind to me. He never mistreated me._

_Maybe...maybe I deserved that more._

_I growled at her as I lurched to my feet._

_Her smile stretched ear to ear. Too many teeth in that smile. "Good. We were hoping you'd do that."_

_Another blow came from the opposite direction. I hit the ground again. White hot pain bloomed inside my chest as the flesh on my side opened up. I couldn't catch my breath._

_There were two of them. There always are. I knew their names, but I couldn't speak them out loud. Good dogs don't do that. Good dogs come when they're called, they fawn over the ones who beat them._

_I wasn't a good dog anymore, but I still didn't want to name them._

_The other one stood over me. She was just as wide as the first one. They were definitely mother and daughter. Her trueform looked the same, but her flesh smelled Bad. Worse than brimstone and sulfur. Dark oil oozed from her vessel's skin._

_I backed up, snarling._

_"You think you deserve a good home?" the woman laughed. "Really? With him?" She pointed the club at Dean. "You're a bad dog. Always have been, always will be." She swung the bat at my head. I leaped aside, then turned and grabbed the shaft with my jaws._

_She smiled. "Got some fire in you, huh, pup? I'll put it out. Just like I did before. But first we're going to take care of your precious Knight over_

_there."_

_I jerked around. The daughter stood behind Dean. He was still lost in his own world. He didn't see any of this. We were separate again._

_"Say goodbye to your good life, mutt."_

_The daughter swung her club. She used the hook end._

_"NO!"_

_I knew I was too late even as I leaped forward. The crack of bone was as loud as the thunder overhead. Dean's head lolled over at an unnatural angle. His neck broke. Long splinters of shattered bone tore through his skin. The Mark went out. So did his soul light. Thin dead smoke and streamers of dim white light seeped out of the tears in his skin._

_The daughter backed up just as I slammed into her and sank my teeth in her arm. Her flesh tasted just as nasty as it looked but I sunk my teeth in as far as they could go. I shook my head back and forth. I was going to kill this bitch. I was going to rip her apart limb from limb and then set the pieces on fire._

_The daughter fell backwards onto the rain slick pavement. I was on top of her. Thunder rolled overhead and she screamed laughter._

_The other one cracked me across my back with her club. Rage came up out of me and the air around me blazed with fire._

_"Hershey?"_

_I didn't recognize the voice. My teeth sawed into her flesh, deeper and deeper. I growled and I snarled and I burned red hot. They hurt me. They hurt Dean. And I was going to hurt them back._

_"HERSHEY!"_

_The voice vibrated with power._

_(...it's okay, it's all right...)_

_I'd felt that before. The power I mean, but I couldn't think straight. I tasted blood, and I wanted more of it. I wanted to see both of them scattered in pieces all over the ground._

_(...wake up...)_

_Whatever this was pushed deeper inside me A feeling of calm rolled over me, through me. I didn't want that. I wanted revenge. Blood. Murder._

_(...dude, you gotta wake up...)_

_Everything inside me shut down. I didn't want it to. I growled and shook my head over and over again, but the urge to kill faded slowly away._

"Hershey, wake up. Damn it, wake up!"

I opened my eyes.

I saw Dean.

"You're safe." The tense expression on his face softened. He nodded at me. "It's okay."

He'd calmed me down, brought me back. But it wasn't okay. Something was wrong.

His skin was bruised and red with burns. A long gash went down the side of his face. It just missed his eye. His clothes were torn, the edges singed black. I smelled smoke in the air.

The bad ones were gone. I hadn't attacked them. I never did.

Slick wet copper and fire flooded my mouth. The points of my teeth scraped against broken shards of white bone.

Dean's blood. Dean's bone.

I held his severed right arm in my jaws.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 is next.


	6. a damn chick flick moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mark of Cain is displeased. Hershey makes a fateful decision after Dean gives him some sage life advice. Hello, Dr. Phil.

"Hershey-"

Dean's arm was in my mouth. It wasn't attached to his body anymore. Because of me. I ripped it off. I did that.

Me.

I couldn't loosen my jaws. Couldn't drop it. I blinked as I came back to myself all the way.

"Dude, just look at me-"

I didn't want to. I shook all over. Couldn't take my eyes off Dean's stump. His clothes were splattered with blood and a piece of jagged white bone stuck out from underneath the rags of his t-shirt and all I could think was that _I hurt him, I hurt him, I didn't mean to I didn't mean to do it no no no NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-_

_Stupid hound._

Another voice inside my head. I didn't know who this was. Maybe I really was going crazy. That wasn't Dean. More bad stuff from inside my head? The voice was female. She was mad. I froze in place, wide eyed, shivering. At first I didn't know who this was. Then I knew.

It was the Mark of Cain.

_See what you did? I wanted to kill you myself but he wouldn't let me._

"Shut up, tramp stamp," Dean growled out loud. He looked at me and his fierce expression softened. "It's okay, buddy. It is. Really."

He released his hold on me. I crouched there trembling. I don't know how long it was before my jaws unclenched. I hated the weight in my mouth. The taste of blood. Hated myself. I leaned forward and opened my mouth. I let go of Dean's arm.

It didn't fall to the floor. The arm disappeared in a flash of red-orange light. It disappeared instead. The space below Dean's stump glowed fiery red. The light washed over his entire body and when it vanished he was whole again. His arm was back. The scar on his face was gone. So were the burns and bruises. Smooth skin. Freckles.

Dean made a face as he wiggled the fingers of his right hand. He nodded. "That always freaks me out a little," he muttered. I knew he wasn't talking to me.

The Mark sniffed. _Wouldn't be necessary in the first place if it weren't for that dumb mutt. I don't know why you even bother-_

"I said. Shut. it."

She did.

I stared at him wide-eyed.

"Hershey, it's okay. I'm a Knight of Hell, remember?" He held up his hands and wiggled all his fingers. "See? I got better. No harm, no foul."

I couldn't hold the scream inside me in anymore. I threw back my head and howled.

"Crap!" Dean hissed.

I howled because I'd ruined everything. Again. And I knew I'd mess up. Again. Hellfire flared up underneath my skin. I knew it wouldn't burn just the couch and the room this time. I'd burn down the house. And then my fire would flow out to the entire neighborhood like a river overflowing its banks. Ashes in the wind.

Dean wrapped his power around me again, but it felt the same way when my mom used to grab me by the scruff of my neck. When I was just a silly pup getting into everything. I always felt safe when she did that. It meant that somebody cared enough to look out for me. That's part of being part of a pack.

But I wasn't a puppy anymore. And I didn't deserve safe.

I howled because I wanted to die. It would have been better if I had died out there on the streets.

I howled, and at first that's all that sound was, just a noise, but the words came out of me at last.

"Kill me. Kill meeeee-"

Dean shook his head. "Not now. Not ever." He pulled me into his arms. I tried to squirm away.

"It's okay, it's all right." He rocked back and forth slightly. Kept saying that over and over. His power faded away from around me. I felt the pressure of both arms on my body. I opened my jaws, then closed them with a snap. I'd done enough. I didn't want to hurt him anymore.

I don't know how long I howled. I yelped and I whined. Until there was nothing left inside me and I laid there trembling. Dean talked to me and he rocked me in his arms. I was finally calm. Or maybe it was better to say that I was too tired to do anything else.

I saw what I'd done to the room.

The big tv screen was melted. The curtains at the window were shredded and singed. Everything in the room, the pictures on the walls, the tables and lamps, was black with soot and scorched around the edges.

I'd torched the couch too. I smelled burned plastic, fabric and wood.

I'd heard that Cain could stop demons and other beings from using their powers. That was what Dean had done. He didn't want to hurt me, just hold me. If he'd been human I would have killed him. I knew that. When I lived on the streets Animal Control came looking for me. They tried to catch me. Humans in cars with those capture sticks tried to catch me by throwing hotdogs at me. I heard some of the people in the neighborhood talk about them. They called them "rescue groups."

Sometimes I thought about letting them catch me. That would have ended badly.

"Hershey, it's just stuff. Nothing that can't be replaced. Losing control...tearing things up...hey, I've been there."

I didn't say anything. Images of what I'd seen flashed through my mind. Dean homeless. Dean on the streets, lost and wild-eyed.

"Was that a dream?"

"Nope." Dean shook his head. "That was a memory. I leaked. Sometimes I don't know my own strength." He looked around the room and sighed. "This is my fault, not yours."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did take me in that night?"

" 'cause you looked like you needed to get out of the rain." Dean said simply.

I couldn't think of anything to say to that.

Dean looked down at me. "We have to talk."

What was he going to say to me? I'm sorry, but you have to leave? I don't want you here anymore?

He let me go. I backed up and sat down.

"Damn chick flick moment."

"What?" Chick flick moment? I didn't know what that was. I didn't see any chicks or chickens in the house. Except for that cut up dead one in the refrigerator. It was covered in barbeque sauce.

"I always told you that if you stay or go it's up to you. I mean that. But you can't live your life like this. Bad dreams. Hiding behind the couch whenever somebody knocks on the door. Expecting me to hit you all the time. Even that Yorkie thing you do isn't good the way you use it. Being sneaky's one thing. Being ashamed of what you are? Dude, that's not good. Not good at all."

I stayed quiet.

"Look, I know none of this is your fault. Those two demon skanks mistreated you. You didn't deserve that. And I'm guessing that Crowley didn't do a damn thing when the shit hit the fan. He took their word over yours. Am I right?"

I nodded.

"Then fuck him. But you need to finish this. You need to choose how you're going to live. You deserve better. You got issues. So what? We all do. Don't stay sad. Don't get mad. Get even. Otherwise you'll be running from this for the rest of your life."

I stared at him.

"I'll help you as much as I can. If you want me to. But you need to find closure." He frowned and shook his head. "Damn. I can't believe I sound like Dr. Phil."

I don't know who Dr. Phil is either.

"Look, I'm gonna go upstairs and change, okay? If you want me to help you I will. We can decide what to do and we'll do it together if you want."

I nodded. I watched him leave, heard him go upstairs.

I felt something inside me then, something bright and downright wild. Life was good when I was a puppy. I was loved and cuddled and spoiled rotten. Things changed when I became grown. Once I grew up nobody ever talked to me the way Dean had. Like I was worth something, I mean. Nobody had ever given me a choice of how I could live. King Crowley certainly hadn't. Neither had the trainers. I still love them, but my mom and my pack never did either. Everyone always assumed that I would follow the family way, and I didn't question any of it.

Because I didn't know that I could.

I pricked my ears and stared up at the ceiling. I followed Dean's footsteps. He was in his bedroom now. It wouldn't take long for him to change clothes and come back.

I didn't want to be here when he came back downstairs.

I jumped down from the couch. I stood there for a moment with my ears and nose twitching. My insides felt jumpy, but in a good way. I didn't want to go out the back way. That would take too long. I turned and looked at the front door.

Perfect.

I raised up on my hind legs, reached out and shifted my paws into hands. I turned the knob. The door swung open. I was still two-legged when I walked out onto the porch and closed the door.

I wasn't paying attention to what was outside. I should have. I was focused on whether Dean knew I was leaving. If I heard him yell out "Hershey!" I was going to drop down on all fours and run like hell.

I turned and closed the door. Gently. Quietly.

Glass broke behind me. When I looked behind me I saw the rabbit man standing on the sidewalk in front of his house. A large brown paper grocery bag lay on the sidewalk in front of him. The sidewalk and the bottom of the bag was soggy with spilled milk. He stared at me open-mouthed, pale and shaking. The front of his pants was dark and wet. I lifted my nose and sniffed.

He peed on himself.

Good.

I was tired of hiding. Tired of feeling small. I didn't even bother to hide as a Yorkie. I let him see my true self. Bigger, blacker and even toothier than I was when he saw me out in the backyard with Dean. My eyes flashed electric blue. I dropped back down to all fours, wagged my tail and grinned at him.

"Well, how d'ya like me _now_ , rabbit?" I told him.

He screamed and ran for his front door.

Damn humans with their damn noise.

I turned away from Dean's house. I didn't walk. I ran down the street. I felt young. Powerful, as if I could do any damn thing I wanted and right then I didn't give a damn who liked it and who didn't. I hadn't felt that good in a long long time.

I didn't have to sniff the ground to pick up a scent. I had a feeling. That's the best way I can describe it. I knew where I was going. I felt a pull in a certain direction, and it was the one direction I'd run away from all this time.

I ran towards the bad place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7 is next.


	7. he wants revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hershey makes his move on the demons who abused him.

The street leading down to the bad place looked the same as it did the night I left. I sat at the top of the hill and stared at the two story frame house. The off white color of the walls made my skin crawl. It looked normal to humans but I knew better. It leaned to the left. There was a sinkhole in the yard next door. The hole was large enough to drop a car into. It was a gateway to Hell.

The humans in the neighborhood never noticed that, either.

People came and went out of that big office building next to me. I sat in the parking lot. I looked like a big shaggy brown dog with floppy ears.

Nothing to see here folks. Move along now.

Dean was right. Pretending to be something else felt better when I did it to be sneaky, not because I was ashamed of myself.

The woman's brown car sat at the curb in front of the house. That was how I knew she was home. At this time of day I was pretty sure the daughter was still at school. Didn't matter. I wasn't leaving until my business here was finished.

I stared at the house. Didn't matter that the day was warm and the sun was out. I felt cold inside.

I felt cold because I remembered.

I remembered the metal taste of fear in my mouth. The heavy knots in my stomach. I remembered how I felt as I ran that night.

_"HERSHEY! HERSHEY! YOU GET BACK HERE DAMN IT!"_

I swear that voice was so loud it pushed me forward. I ran so fast and so hard my feet barely touched the ground. I ran up that street. If I stopped and came back I knew she'd hurt me even more. I was a bad dog then.

I ran faster.

I ran past the top of the hill. A block away there was a wide street that was filled with lots of traffic even at that time of night. I wasn't paying attention and I ran head first right into the side of a bus. The bus was stopped at a red light and it rocked back and forth on its wheels when I hit it.

People came to the windows and looked out to see what was going on. Several of them pointed at me. "What the hell is that!"

They could see the real me. I forgot to hide.

I backed up and looked at the large dent in the side of the bus. I wasn't hurt. I sat down on my haunches, threw my head back and howled at the moon. Then I ran around the front of the bus. Behind the bus cars skidded sideways to a sudden stop.

I looked up and snarled at the driver even though it was my fault I hit the bus. She sat frozen in her seat, wide-eyed, pale and shaking. I saw red. I wanted to hurt someone, anyone, just like I'd been hurt. I thought about jumping up, crashing through the windshield and ripping her throat out but I didn't. I knew if I did that I'd never stop killing. I'd kill everyone on the bus.

_"HERSHEY!"_

I jerked around in the direction of the voice. The woman and her daughter were coming up the hill.

I couldn't go back to that place. I just couldn't.

So I ran. I ran until my legs hurt. I ended up hiding in a vacant house miles away.

The memory held onto me for a moment or so. I could still smell the dusty stale air in the basement. I blinked when I came back to myself. That was then. This was now. My insides felt funny. Hot and cold, jittery and quiet at the same time. I could see the mailbox on the fence. From that distance I saw the letters painted on the black metal: Bleeddry.

That was it. That was their last name. The woman's name was Diane and the daughter's name was Carmen. I realized that I'd thought those dreaded names and nothing bad happened to me.

Huh. I grinned to myself, a wide doggy grin. Well, this was enough, right? I could go back home to Dean. Tell him that I didn't want to do anything else. I could do that.

And it wouldn't fix anything. I'd still be scared. That's why I left before Dean could follow me. He'd done more than enough for me. This was something I wanted to do by myself. For myself.

I glanced at the other side of the street. There was a wooded area, another side street, two more houses, then the bad place. I couldn't go up to the front door and ring the bell. Going through the woods and the backyards and jumping over the fences was a good plan. I grinned to myself as I stood up and crossed the street. Sneaky did feel mighty good.

* * *

The damn back door creaked as I opened it. I froze, head cocked. Nothing happened, so I pushed it open more with my nose. I stuck my head inside. My nostrils flared. Ugh. The place still smelled. She always used a lot of disinfectant to hide the stench of sulfur. The back room was empty except for a table and a few chairs. The door to the basement was closed.

So far, so good. I stepped inside. I didn't close the back door. As soon I was all the way in I heard sounds.

The first thing was a slap. Hard. Sounded like a baseball bat. The memory of being hit rose up in the muscles of my back along with all the pain and fear. I clamped my jaws shut to keep myself from whimpering out loud.

"I told you to come here, didn't I?"

It was the woman. That Diane.

The pup whimpered again. "Don't hurt me any more. Please, don't-"

I crouched down and growled deep in my throat. As soon as I did I froze. That was really stupid. What if she heard me? I stayed that way for a moment. I listened.

Nothing.

The fear melted away. I heard another hit, another yelp from the pup, and all that was left inside me was blood red rage. It was happening again, only to someone else. I felt a bright stab of pure hatred towards Hell's trainers and pack masters, even towards King Crowley for allowing this to happen again.

I padded forward into the kitchen. Halfway in I heard something squeak. I couldn't tell where it was coming from. I was distracted, focused on the woman up ahead. My claws didn't make any noise on the tile floor. At least, I didn't think they had. I heard squeaking from the basement below. Mice. They sounded afraid.

I didn't realize where the noise really came from until it was too late.

I stopped by the kitchen table. The place was just as foul as I remembered. Dirty dishes in the sink, rotten food in the oven and the microwave. Flies buzzed in the air. Roaches crawled in and out of the cabinet drawers. The windows were dirty. So were the yellow curtains. Past the kitchen was the tv room. Beyond that was the front room and the stairs that led to the second floor.

The woman and the pup were in the hallway near the front door.

She hit him again.

"I'll be a good boy. I will! Please stop -"

She screamed at him again.

"You're gonna mind me, y'hear?"

Another hit. The pup yipped.

"You're a bad dog. That's why they sent you to me."

I stepped into the hallway.

It was a hellhound pup, all right. Couldn't have been more than two months old. Chubby little thing. White fur. His big pointed ears and long bushy tail were tipped in black. He had light blue eyes. Another runt of the litter. Just like I was.

"I'll teach you to mind me!" the woman raised the bat.

I lost it then. But I didn't make a sound. I didn't growl. I wanted this to be a surprise. And it was. The front room wasn't carpeted. The floors were hard wood. I leaped out into the room and then leaped up before she had a chance to realize I was behind her. I sank my teeth into her wide flabby ass.

The Diane bitch threw back her head and screamed.

She tasted nasty but I didn't mind. I would have grinned if my mouth hadn't been so full. I planted all four feet on the floor and shook my head from side to side.

"AAAARGGGGGHHHHH-"

Blood flew. She dropped the bat. The pup backed into the far corner next to the window. At first I thought he was staring at me. He wasn't.

I turned just in time to see the daughter behind me. The bitch had a shovel. She was in the basement. The squeak I heard was the door as she came up. She must have heard my footsteps down there.

I let go of the mother bitch but I was too slow. The daughter brought the shovel down on my back. My legs nearly went out from underneath me. It hurt but I was too pissed off to care. I turned and grabbed the shovel in my jaws and tried to jerk it out of her hands. At the same time I saw the woman lean down and pick up the bat again. She'd already stopped bleeding. Damn.

As soon as I let go of the shovel the Carmen bitch swung at me. I jumped out of the way then I backed up next to the pup. He pressed against my side, shaking and moaning.

The daughter laughed. "He bit you in the butt, Momma."

Diane hissed at her. "Bitch, didn't I tell you never laugh at me?"

Things got a little weird after that.

The back door slammed shut. By itself. Diane and Carmen looked confused. That made me think they didn't have anything to do with the door closing.

Diane moved funny. By that I mean she jerked with every move she made, like a puppet with broken strings. She swung the baseball bat and hit her daughter alongside the head so hard Carmen's neck snapped. Her chin hung down to her chest.

She wailed. "Momma!"

Diane shook her head from side to side. "I didn't – that wasn't me-"

Carmen moved with the same jerky motions. She took her shovel and whacked Diane upside her head. Wham!

"I'm sorry-I'm sorry-"

I didn't know what the hell was going on here. I grabbed the pup by the scuff of the neck and lifted him up. He yelped. The closest way out was the front door or the nearby window. I wanted to take him outside and then come back inside and finish this.

I headed for the window.

I stopped short as though I'd run into an invisible wall. Something was wrong. The windows and walls were warded. We couldn't get out.

The demons kept hitting each other.

My mind went blank for a moment. I flicked a glance at the stairs. The only way out of this was up so I charged for the stairs with the puppy in my mouth.

The woman shrieked. Her eyes bulged out and so did the veins in her forehead and neck. She strained to move against something I couldn't see. She hit at me with the bat. She missed. I moved so fast by the time she raised the bat again I was halfway up the stairs. My paws made scrabbling sounds on the hardwood.

I hung a left at the top of the stairs. There were only so many places we could hide up there. The room on the left was the woman's bedroom. I couldn't see the floor because of all the clothes and shoes scattered around. I don't know why she did that. It was the same when I lived there. I slipped and slid on the clothes but we finally reached the bedroom.

I slammed the door behind us.

Down below the woman screamed so loud the house shook. I couldn't make out the words. The windows rattled in their frames and so did the doors.

I put the puppy down. He slid down onto his stomach and cried.

"Hey," I told him.

He wasn't listening to me.

I raised my right paw and tapped him on the head. "Hey!"

He jerked back, his eyes wide. "I don't like it here. I wanna leave this place."

"I know you do. We can't leave. Not yet." I nodded at the closet behind us. "I want you to get in there." I made a face as I walked on the clothes to get to the door. I had to push them out of the way to open the door. The place still smelled funny. Body odor and rancid oil.

I pulled the door open. Inside the closet there were piles of clothes and shoes that would have been chest high on a human.

"Come on!" I turned and nudged him to his feet with my nose. "I want you to hide. You don't come out until I tell you to, okay?"

"I don't like it here."

"I know. I don't like it here either."

"You gonna get us out?" His eyes were wide and round.

I nodded. "I'm gonna get us out. Go on now."

I cocked my head to one side and listened for sounds outside the door. The bitch wasn't screaming anymore. It was quiet. I was sure that was not a good thing. I watched the pup waddle forward and burrow underneath a pile of clothes in the back. When he turned around to face me he still looked worried. I grinned at him.

"It's okay. It's all right." I didn't know if it really would be but I wasn't going to tell him otherwise. I reached in and pulled some of the clothes over his head to cover him. I pushed the closet door shut.

My heart pounded against my chest like it wanted to get out. I was scared. But I was happy too. That sounds weird, doesn't it?

My days of hiding were over.

I opened the bedroom door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC next week


	8. a taste of their own medicine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing says revenge like an enraged hellhound and his Knight of Hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Karma comes after everyone eventually. You can't get away with screwing people over your whole life, I don't care who you are. What goes around comes around. That's how it works. Sooner or later the universe will serve you the revenge that you deserve."  
> -Jessica Brody, The Karma Club

The hallway looked the same as it did before. Nothing changed. I pulled the door shut behind me. Walking on the clothes on the floor felt weird. I made a face as I padded over the clothes. They smelled rank. My paw pads felt dirty.

I stopped and pricked my ears. I couldn't hear anything, but that didn't mean I was alone out there.

Turns out I wasn't alone.

I stepped out into the open at the top of the stairs.

The woman and her daughter stood at the bottom. Diane had her baseball bat. Carmen's head hung lopsided but she held her shovel in both hands. Diane grinned at me and tapped her bat in the palm of her hand. "You're gonna get it now, you bastard."

I crouched down and growled. My hackles stood up, but I realized now that it wasn't because of them. I sensed someone else. My tail knew who it was before the rest of me did. It wagged back and forth.

Dean faded into view beside me. He leaned against the top of the balcony. "Hey, kiddo."

The woman's eyes bulged out. So did the veins on her neck. "Who the hell are you, mister? What are you doing in my house?"

Dean glared at the woman. His eyes turned black.

Diane lifted the bat up. She moved with the same jerky movement I saw before. "No. No no no-" Carmen squeaked like an overgrown rat. They were caught again. She raised her shovel. Dean and I watched them hit each other again and again. The whack and thump that sounded with each smack was loud and pretty damned satisfying.

Dean shrugged. "I know that Three Stooges routine is a dick move but I had to get my licks in."

He blinked green again as he let them go. They didn't come up the stairs. Instead they dropped the bat and the shovel and ran for the front door. The house shook with each step they took. Dishes rattled in the kitchen.

Dean stood up and held his hands out in front of him, palms out. "Hey, I'm just here to see that nobody leaves and nobody smokes out. I'll get the pup out of the closet." He winked at me. "Go get 'em, tiger."

I took the stairs two at a time. When I bounded into the front hallway the demons shrieked and made a break for the back door.

I could have stopped them. I was fast enough, but I wanted to prolong this. The scent of their fear was enjoyable, even even though it smelled like white vinegar mixed with sulfur.

They ran through the tv room into the kitchen. Diane turned towards the wooden block of knives on the kitchen counter. She pulled out the largest butcher knife with her right hand. She was too slow. I leaped up and sank my teeth into her hand. One sideways shake of my head was all it took to shred her hand to pieces. She let out another scream that was most enjoyable. Dark red blood sprayed all over the window over the sink and the dingy yellow curtains. I shook her arm from side to side like a puppy with a chew toy. Her bones snapped like dried twigs and I realized that under the right circumstances maybe that soft mouth of mine wasn't so soft anymore.

For a moment we stared at each other. Her eyes were large, round and shiny. Her mouth quivered. I couldn't put a name to the look on her face. Then it hit me.

Fear. She was afraid of me.

I let her go. Several of her fingers fell to the floor. That was only fair. After all, she always used her right hand to beat me. Karma.

I stood there watching as Diane stumbled through the kitchen and into the back room. Carmen was already at the door, She pulled at the door knob with both hands. She kept looking back at me and that was when I saw she had that same scared look.

There were past scents in the house. They were overlaid by the funk, but I could smell them. I caught the faint scent of my younger self and others. Past scents, past hounds. Other hounds who'd been sent up from Hell for correction. Maybe they were too young or too set in their ways. Maybe they were easily distracted and really needed a gentle hand instead of a hard fist. They weren't bad dogs. I knew that now. They deserved better than this. And so did I.

Right at that moment I didn't know if I was a good dog. I didn't care.

Diane pushed Carmen away from the door. She grabbed the doorknob with her good hand and slammed her shoulder into the door over and over again. Carmen joined her. Nothing happened. The door stayed shut.

The bad stuff inside my head was still there, but it was different now. I was ready to let it go.

I was ready to let it come out.

I raised up on two legs. As I walked forward everything about me grew larger with each step I took. I'd never felt this way before. I was heavier, wider than I'd ever been in my life. My paws shifted into hands. I looked down at myself and rumbled laughter. Perfect. I caught a glimpse of my face in the reflection of a silver metal toaster that sat on the counter. I picked it up.

My claws were huge. Shiny black with a wicked curve to them. The toaster looked like a toy lying there against the palm of my hand. The leather of my palms was as black as night, just like my fur. I ran my tongue over my teeth and grinned at myself. My eyes sparked blue. My teeth were long, sharp and pointed. In that moment I was more than a hellhound. I wasn't a pup, either. I was a big bad wolf.

I tossed the toaster over my left shoulder. It slammed into the wall behind me and shattered the wall clock to pieces.

Diane pounded on the windows with her left arm. Carmen joined her using both hands. That made me chuckle deep in my throat. I did the same thing when I escaped. That seemed like years ago.

The glass held. It didn't shatter but it became sticky with their blood.

When they saw me coming the demons screamed and tried to smash through the windows. I was so tall when I stepped into the room I leaned down to keep from bumping my head on the top of the doorway. The floor creaked with my weight.

Diane and Carmen turned Around. They put their backs to the wall.

The woman moaned out loud. At first I couldn't make out the words.

Then I did.

"Please. Please."

Inside my head I heard myself moan. _"Please stop hitting me. Please..."_

"Please don't do this."

" _I'll be a good boy. Please don't hurt me..."_

"It was just a job, okay!" Diane sobbed.

Carmen's broad face was flushed. Tears and snot streamed from her eyes and nose. "We didn't mean any harm..."

No, I wasn't moved by this. Not. At. All.

_I was thirsty that day. My food bowl was empty. My water bowl had an inch of water in it. It smelled funny but I didn't care. Hadn't eaten in days. I lapped up some water._

_My tongue burned. Smoke billowed from my mouth. I backed up. The pain shot from my nose to my tail._

" _Dumb mutt," Diane laughed. She dug her fingers into the scruff of my neck, lifted me up and shook me. Hard. "You're so stupid you drank holy water!"_

I sprang on the woman first. The back of the house trembled. I put one hand underneath her throat, lifted her up and repeatedly slammed her face first against the walls. She screamed as her skin tore. Her bones broke through her skin.

I grinned a bloody bad dog smile at Carmen. _You're next, bitch._

She broke for the basement door. I leaned forward and grabbed her by the ankle with my other hand. My claws sliced into her skin, right down to the bone. She kicked and screamed as I pulled her towards me.

I shook her like a rag doll. Every bone in her body broke.

_One day I sat and stared at my food bowl. It was empty except for scraps of dried meat. Tough as leather. I lowered my head, opened my mouth to eat. It was better than nothing._

" _Hah! Gotcha, stupid dog!" Carmen kicked me in the side so hard my knees buckled. The pain took my breath away._

I flipped Carmen over on her back and I went for her throat. It ripped open just as easily as the rest of her did.

_The broom handle came crashing down on my head and back over and over again. I couldn't move. I couldn't feel my legs and tail. The only part of me I could move was my mouth. "Please don't hurt me," I heard myself say. "Please stop..."_

_She smiled. "I love to hear you beg!"_

All the pain and fear I ever felt in that house flowed out of me through my teeth and claws. Not only for me, but for the others. For all the hounds who suffered and died in that place.

I gave it all back.

* * *

Later I came back to myself with a jerk. I don't know how much time passed. I stood over their bodies and I forced myself to breathe in and out.

I looked down at myself and I saw I was shrinking down, little by little. My claws weren't as long. I felt lighter somehow.

The walls were painted with blood. Diane's right arm lay over by the doorway. Carmen's left foot was was still inside her shoe. It was propped up against the basement door.

I don't remember when or how I did that.

The demons lay on their backs. They stared at me wide eyed, as though they still couldn't believe what was happening.

Diane opened her mouth. Then Carmen did too. I knew what was going to happen next. Thick coils of black smoke billowed out over their lips, then curled back down their throats.

I leaned over the woman. Her torn skin and her ribs curved into the open air, a broken cage for her heart. Her black smoke essence coiled and moved underneath. I leaned over her and growled. She ducked back underneath the heart and didn't move again. I padded over to the daughter. When I snarled at her she did the same thing.

Dean was right. Oh me of little faith. They couldn't smoke out. They couldn't leave their bodies.

I didn't want to hurt them anymore, but there was something else I wanted... no, _needed_ to do. Dean was still upstairs and I wondered why he hadn't come down yet.

I felt a slight tickle inside my head. _Uh...Hershey?_

_Dean?_

_Ummm...a little help here?_

I dropped down to all fours and ran back to the stairs in the front hallway. I stopped in the kitchen to shake the blood off. By the time I reached the stairs I was my regular size. My ears pricked up at the voices coming from the bedroom above my head.

"Dude, you can come out. I'm not going to hurt you."

" _LEAVE ME ALONE! GO AAAWAY!"_

I got it. This was one very angry hellhound puppy versus a big bad Knight of Hell. I ran up the stairs into the bedroom.

The closet was wide open. Dean knelt in front of the door. The puppy was still hidden away underneath the clothes pile. He made a good bluff with all the growling and snarling but I knew deep down he was afraid. The clothes I pulled down on top of him moved as he growled. The inside of the closet vibrated.

Dean nodded at me. _Good job._

_You saw me?_

_Yep. Pretty damned impressive._ Dean's expression softened as he looked at the hidden pup. _Well, he said he wouldn't come out unless you told him to. I didn't want to force him. He's had enough of that crap in this hellhole._

I sat down next to Dean. "Hey you!" I called out.

The pile of clothes shifted and a pale little face with black ears and a black nose poked out. He grinned when he saw me but he gave Dean a dirty look.

"I can't keep calling you 'Hey you'," I told him. "I'm Hershey. This is Dean."

The pup growled.

"What's your name?"

"My mom called me Boomer."

"She did?"

" 'cause I knock stuff over all the time. I got big feet."

"So where's your mom now?"

"She's dead. My pack is all dead now."

"Damn," Dean muttered.

"Oh." For a moment I felt all crunchy inside. What could I say to that? A horrible thought occurred to me. "Did they die because of those two bitches downstairs?"

"No. King Crowley sent me up here to learn how to be a good hound after they died."

"That jackass," Dean growled. "We're sorry about your mom and your pack."

Boomer's look of confusion darkened, turned to anger. "He's a demon. A big bad wolf. He'll hurt me like the others did."

Dean shook his head. "No, I won't."

"Boomer, listen to me." I softened my voice. "Yeah, he's a demon. But he's okay."

"Are you sure?" Boomer blinked. He wibbled. I knew how he felt. He didn't want to believe. He wanted to stay hidden.

"I miss my mom!" he wailed.

"I know you do. But you're safe now."

Boomer stared at me for a long moment, as though he wasn't sure I was telling the truth. He pulled back inside underneath the clothes. We couldn't see him anymore. He didn't trust Dean. And he didn't trust me either.

"Damn," I whispered out loud.

The pile shifted. The pup's head was visible first, then he pushed his way out and slid down the slope of the pile. He was right about his feet. They were huge, bigger than mine were at that age. I didn't notice that before. He slipped a little but he finally made it down.

Boomer waddled forward. He eyed Dean warily and wouldn't come close. Dean stretched out his right arm and let him sniff at his fingers. The pup's eyes narrowed but his tail wagged.

Damn tails. They have minds of their own.

Dean leaned forward. He knuckled him underneath his chin and behind his ears. The puppy relaxed. His face softened.

I stretched out my neck and nuzzled Boomer with my nose. "Okay then. We gotta go."

"Let's roll, buddy." Boomer clambered up onto Dean's knee and jumped up into his arms. Dean laughed as he stood up. He skritched him behind his ears. Boomer grinned at him.

"Where to?" Dean asked casually. As if it wasn't a big deal but it really was. He already knew but I said it out loud anyway. Scary things lose their power when they're spoken out loud.

"Hell," I told him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next: Hershey, Dean and Boomer go to Hell.


	9. chicken soup for the hellhound soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Hershey rescue another abused hellhound pup. The spirits of the deceased animals show themselves. 
> 
> Despite the best efforts of my muse and that darn story outline this story has taken on a life on its own. More Hershey, more helhounds, more chapters. Let's roll with it, people. Much belated gratitude and credit to my good friend Abbie who suggested Bleeddry as Diane and Carmen's human last names. A good idea is a good idea. She knows why.

I took the lead out the door and down the stairs.

Tik tik...

I stopped and cocked my head to one side as I listened.

...tik tik...

I knew what that sound was. Remember I said I could scent the hellhounds who'd died in that house?

They were downstairs. Walking around on the hard wood floor.

They weren't alone.

Two hellcats sat on the upstairs hallway table outside the bedroom. Ten more crouched on the balcony railings. They looked solid, dressed in all colors and stripes, patches and color, but I wasn't fooled. Lighter than air spirits but still still leashed to this terrible place.

Despite that they made that purring sound cats make. As we passed by they looked at us and blinked very slowly. I still don't know what that meant, but they looked peaceful.

The stairs were clear. The front hallway was packed all to wall with the ghosts of every animal who had ever suffered and died in that house. Adults. Puppies. Black dogs. Hellhounds. The other spirits were regular dogs and cats unlucky enough to enter the house. The cats sat in the windows. The dogs came up to me and touched noses. They were both sexes, all shapes and sizes.

They circled around Dean. Even though they knew he meant them no harm they were still wary of him. He was a two-legger and a demon, after all.

Boomer stared at them wide eyed. "They told me to run. When I first came here. They told me to. I didn't listen. I thought this was a good place."

The pup whimpered deep in his throat and buried his face in Dean's shoulder. He couldn't look at them anymore.

"It's okay, Boomer," Dean murmured. "You're okay."

Boomer still didn't believe what Dean said, no matter how kindly he said it. Hurt things never do believe. We can't. It feels better to be on guard, even if being on guard doesn't stop the hurt. We hear soft words all the time. Empty promises or downright lies.

The spirits were everywhere. In the tv room they sat on the couch they stood on the floors and in the windows. In the kitchen the cats perched atop the refrigerators, the counters, the table and the stove. Cats like high places. I've never understood why. The dogs sat on the floor, smiling, their faces soft, their tails wagging.

Boomer never looked up. He cried softly to himself even as we walked into the kitchen. He probably thought that Diane and Carmen would jump out of thin air at him. A part of me knew exactly how he felt. There wasn't anything that Dean or I could say to him that would calm him down.

But maybe we could show him he didn't have to be scared anymore. I headed for the back room.

The demons were still on the floor in their bodies. The spirits stood around them. They made room when Dean and I walked in. There wasn't much to see. Diane and Carmen hid in the space behind their hearts.

Several hellhounds ghosted through the basement door. I didn't recognize their clans, but I knew their bodies were buried in the basement.

"Get back out here." Dean's voice held an angry edge to it. He forced the demons back out into the open with a thought. They coiled back and forth inside their bodies, around and around in a space as large as a human fist. Dean nodded at me.

"Hey, Boomer?" I said quietly. "You need to see this."

"Don't wanna," the pup mumbled into Dean's shoulder.

"They're right here. And they can't hurt you anymore."

Boomer slowly lifted his head. His eyes were slits. He turned his head slowly. When he looked down his eyes widened. The look of surprise on his face was almost funny.

"See? They're never going to hurt you or anybody else," Dean said. "It's over."

The pup leaned forward until he nearly fell out of Dean's arms. His expression softened. That tail of his started wagging.

I bussed noses with the spirit of a spotted Great Dane. A silver grey hellhound with a short stubby tail approached Dean. She stood up on her hind legs and shyly licked at his hand. She didn't jerk back when he gently scratched the top of her head.

Dean smiled at her. "Hello, sweetie."

The hound nudged his hand one more time with her nose. She dropped back down on all fours and moved back so the others could come closer. A tiny little grey and black tabby with big ears rubbed up against Dean's legs and purred.

The air inside the house grew brighter.

One by one they disappeared. When the last one left the light faded out. The house felt different somehow. Smaller. That place still didn't feel right to me. Too much had gone on within those fences and walls.

I've heard tales that regular animals go to some place called the Rainbow Bridge when they die. My pack told me that hellhounds pass over to a place all their own. A place where all the clans and packs run free and no one ever feels pain and fear ever again. I'd like to believe that. I really would.

I don't know if I do or not.

I do know that as I watched the Other spirits fade out I saw that none of them were afraid or scared. That tells me that their final resting place is a good one. It has to be. Right now that's more than good enough for me.

I sat down and stared at the demons. I could drag them back to hell, even though they tasted foul and upset my stomach a little. My mouth wasn't as soft as it was before. I could do it.

Turns out I didn't have to.

The smoke demons stopped moving.

Dean stuck his arm out, palm up. The older female demon disappeared, only to reappear floating over his outstretched hand. The smoke essence lowered itself down onto his hand, Dean hooked his fingers into a claw and closed his fingers. When he opened them up again the demon looked like a lump of coal.

Then it disappeared.

Boomer looked puzzled, but I knew what Dean did. "I can carry them down."

"You don't have to," Dean said mildly.

He called up the daughter next. She disappeared the same way.

As soon as his hand was empty Dean frowned up as though he tasted something nasty. He wiped his hand on his jeans. His expression darned a little as he looked around the house. "I've got an idea about this place. Remind me when we come back."

His power wrapped around us like a warm blanket and away we went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10 is next.


	10. four dog night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean, Hershey and Boomer go to Hell.

The lowlands still looked the same. Flat as a pancake. The land rose up further in the distance. The sky above was gray.

Boomer's tail wagged. Mine did too, a little. Home. We were home.

I used to roam around here with the rest of my litter mates when we were pups. Plenty of room for us to stretch our legs. My mom used to let us run until we tired ourselves out and we'd usually sleep through the night after that. That might seem like a sneaky trick to pull on a pup, but we were a handful.

The wall ahead looked like a mountain range that rose up to Hell's roof. It stretched from one end of the horizon to the other. There was a gap in the wall. The Gate of Hell. I recognized the Guardian of the Gate. He looked like me, black and furry, only he was huge. Bigger and longer than some of the ten story buildings I'd seen back on Earth. He was my favorite uncle but it had been at least a year since I saw him last.

I wasn't sure he liked me any more.

Cerebrus laid on his belly with his heads on his paws. All three heads slobbered. And snored. So did his tail, a giant anaconda that slept coiled up on the ground behind him.

Okay then. I could do this. I walked up to him but I stopped at a respectful distance like a young dog with manners. My mom taught me that. I cleared my throat. My voice was clear and loud. "Ummm...excuse me?"

The middle head raised up and sneezed. It was good that he was so tall, because the wind from his sneeze was pretty strong. It moved the air over our heads. All three heads blinked. The tail snored. It was always the last part of him to wake up. Sometimes my other relatives teased Uncle about that.

Cerebus tilted his heads to first one side and then another. I remembered that Cerebus's sight wasn't the best. He squinted at Dean and Boomer. Boomer whimpered.

"Easy now. We're okay." Dean sounded calm enough.

The heads reared back and then stared at me. Three pairs of ruby red eyes widened in shock.

"Well I'll be damned," the middle head boomed out. "Hey! Hershey!" He always was quickest on the uptake.

"Boy, where have you been?" The head on the left sounded surprised.

"Your momma's been worried sick about you!" The third head piped up.

That made my ears stand straight up. "Huh? What?"

All three heads nodded in unison. "Yeah!"

My legs shook as my mouth dropped open. I sat down on my rump with a thump. I finally remembered to close my mouth. I stammered, "She - she is?"

"Oh sure! She goes up there to look for you every chance she gets!"

"She – she does?"

"Oh yeah!"

My head moved in quick nervous jerks as I looked around. I wanted to see her there. "Is...is my mom down here now?"

"Nope. The King sent her topside on a job."

The snake tail snorted noisily. It uncoiled as it raised up behind Cerebus. "What? What's going on?" His head was the size of a school bus. He blinked red-eyed at us, then his mouth dropped open. "It's the pup! I thought you said he ran away?"

"We didn't tell you that! We knew he didn't. King Crowley sent him to those people topside. Nobody believed us about what they do to us four-leggers. Hershey ran away from them. And he found himself a Knight of Hell, too!"

What? I suddenly had what the humans call a sneaking suspicion. I turned and looked at Dean.

Dean gave me this fake innocent look. Boomer wasn't fooled either. When I didn't stop frowning at him he shrugged. "Okay, so last night I came down here and talked to some hounds." As if it wasn't a big deal, not really.

But it was.

All three heads nodded. "He sure did."

"Knight of Hell?" the snake tail exclaimed. "Lemme see!" He stared at Dean intently.

"Take a picture, dude," Dean snarked. "It'll last longer."

A look of confusion flowed across the snake's broad scaly face. "That's not Cain!"

"No, you dummy, that's the Winchester. Don't you remember?"

The snake's eyes went to slits, as though he suspected we were all playing a trick on him. My mom always said he wasn't the brightest snake in the garden. He cocked his head to one side. "Are you sure?"

"He's got the Mark of Cain," the middle head snapped. "Can't you feel it?'

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

Cerebus crossed one foreleg over another. "Where you guys going?"

"To see Crowley," Dean replied.

Cerebus leaned down and winked at Dean. "The King didn't like it when you ditched him. He called you his two legged Hound of Hell. Joked about getting a collar for you."

"Is that a fact?"

"Yep, that's a fact. I'm supposed to stop you if I see you."

Dean grinned. "Yeah?"

"But that's only if I saw you. And I didn't see you. I didn't see anybody." The ground trembled as Cerebus stood up on all fours. He moved aside.

The gate was clear.

I stood up and walked forward. Uncle lowered all three heads and very gently touched his noses to mine, one head at a time. His nose leathers were dry, slightly bumpy and at least twice as long as my entire body, from nose to tail. His warm breath ruffled my fur.

I walked through the gate. At first I didn't understand where the hard lump that rose up in my throat came from. I tried not to but I grinned like an idiot.

My mom still loved me.

My pack didn't hate me.

Another tremor as Cerebus sat back on his butt. He smiled at us as we walked past. "I wanted to take some time off a couple of months ago. First time in centuries. They think I love being stuck at this gate forever. My request was denied. The pack masters and Crowley said I'm a valuable resource. Said having me here is tradition." He sneered. "Pure bullshit. Nobody else wants this job, not even for a week or two. When you see Crowley give him a thump upside the head for me."

Dean nodded. "Will do."

Boomer was so fascinated by Cerebus he hung his head over Dean's shoulder as they walked past. The pup smiled and waved with his right paw. "Bye bye!"

Dean's power filled the air around us and we disappeared again.

When we came back we were up in the mountains. We must have been further inland because I couldn't see Cerebus or the gate, not even on the horizon.

Dean knelt down, put Boomer on the ground next to me. We looked up at him, confused. His face was blank. I couldn't read him.

His voice echoed inside my skull. I knew Boomer could hear it too. I'm going to send you guys away from here, all right?

Why?

We're boxed in. Stay low and stay together. It's okay. Don't worry. I'll come get you later.

Dean reached out with his right hand. First Boomer, then me. He meant to send us away with a touch. He radiated calm. He didn't want us to be afraid.

That made me angry.

NO! I pushed Boomer away from Dean with my body. I snapped at Dean's hand. My jaws snapped shut an inch away from his fingertips.

Boomer picked up on my mood and growled at him.

"We're not leaving you! We're not leaving and you can't make us!"

Dean jerked back, startled.

"You see that, Knight?" a deep voice behind us rumbled. "Damn mutts. You should give them to us. We'll teach them to behave."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 11 is next.


	11. shadow play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's payback time: Dean and his hounds wreak havoc on the abusers.

"Damn mutts," the voice rumbled. "You should give them to us. We'll teach them to behave."

I felt a chill inside. I tilted my head to one side and watched Dean's eyes. After all he'd done for me I repaid him by snarling and growling at him: "We're not leaving and you can't make us!"

I knew what was going to happen next. Any moment now that look of shock in Dean's eyes would disappear. His eyes would harden. Dean would stand up, step back, glare at Boomer and me and call out to the unknown voice "You know what? You're right. Fuck it! You can have 'em!"

He'd disappear in a snap of red light and that would be it. Boomer and I would be alone.

With the shadows.

There were twenty of them. We were in the middle of the circle, just like Dean said. I couldn't sense them before, but I could now. I was nervous. Scared, but my nose twitched. Apparently Boomer's nose had a mind of its own too. He lifted his head and scented the air. My hackles raised up. I recognized that foul stench.

Boomer did too.

Howling, barking. Three of the shadows were hellhounds. There was something odd about those snarls and barks. They sounded angry but they underneath I smelled fear musk.

My tail crept between my legs. I felt frozen, uncertain and anxious about what was going to happen. Dean did everything for me and this was how I repaid him? He wanted to keep Boomer and me safe. Why didn't I just let him? I was a bad dog.

Dean stood up.

All right, d-do it! My thought voice shook. Go - go on, l-leave us!

The look on Dean's face softened, even though his body remained alert. Boomer stopped growling and sat there with his head cocked to one side. The pup looked pretty confused.

Dean winked at us. I'm not going anywhere. Guess you're stuck with me.

He turned to face the shadows all around us. I saw the Mark glow fiery orange underneath the sleeve of his brown jacket. "Come on, douchebags. Don't be shy. Who's first?"

The next sound made me cringe. It was a thump. A heavy, ugly noise. Once, then twice. The sound of a club or boot heels against flesh.

My legs nearly gave way. Sense memory of being hit.

All three hellhounds yelped in pain.

"Get in there!"

The hounds came at us.

They weren't shadows anymore. They were big. Bigger than me, but they were skinny. Their ribs showed under their thin, scraggly fur. One was black, one white, the other dark brown.

The white one was the largest. She headed for Dean. Boomer stood up growling. So did I. For a moment the hounds grinned, wide and toothy. Boomer was only a small pup and I guess they figured I wasn't much older.

Big mistake.

I rose up on my hind legs. I grew taller and heavier, just like I'd done before. Boomer stayed on all fours, but he tripled in size.

The white hound charged at Dean. She whimpered in surprise as he grabbed her, lifted her off her feet.

The other two hounds charged in anyway.

Boomer moved so fast he was a blur. He had the grey one by the throat. The hound whimpered. His legs shook. He finally collapsed and rolled over onto his back, belly exposed like a submissive puppy with Boomer's jaws clamped around his throat.

The dark brown one leaped at me. I grabbed him by his neck. Then I slammed him onto the ground on its back. I snarled as I leaned over him. My eyes flashed red.

The hound wet himself. Please, don't kill me...please...

It's funny, but I didn't want to. Kill him, I mean. I stared down at the hound, saw the scar above his eye, his tattered left ear. I saw the way the tip of his nose ws chewed and mangled. He was a young hound, maybe a little older than me, but the damage the two leggers had done made him seem older.

He was a 'good dog' now.

I stared down at him and I realized he could have been me.

I glanced over at Boomer. He held his attacker down but his eyes were locked on me. I didn't kill, so he didn't either. Not yet.

Boomer watched me. I watched Dean.

Dean knelt with his knee pressed into the white hound's chest, his hand loosely at her throat. She didn't pee herself, didn't beg, but the fear that rose up from her smelled thick and rank.

Easy now, Dean whispered inside my head. Boomer heard him too.

I nodded and relaxed, just a little. Boomer didn't release his grip but he didn't kill either.

Dean looked down at the white hound and shook his head. "We don't have a problem with you," he growled. From the way her eyes widened I knew she was seeing his wolf trueform now. "Leave. Now."

He released her and stood up.

She scrambled to her feet and ran away. Boomer let go of his hound. So did I. The other shadows cursed as the three hounds ran at the circle. They knocked over the ones who were stupid enough to stand against them and too slow to get out of their way. The hounds knocked them off their feet, scrambled over them and took off for the lowlands of Hell.

A few feet away the air darkened.

Clap clap clap...

I flattened my ears at the sound.

I growled. So did Boomer.

A little girl faded into view. Four years old with ponytails. She wore a pink and white "Hello Kitty" tee shirt and white jeans. She clapped her hands, but from the nasty smirk on her face I knew she was making fun of us.

I didn't want to hurt the hounds, but I did want to hurt her.

The girl thing looked like any of the kids I'd seen playing in back yards when I lived on the streets. There was something really off about her. The sulfur scent became stronger. Her eyes flashed black. The air around her filled with a large shadow that shifted and moved. The girl image was just a cover. Her hell stench prickled the inside of my nose.

Dean's eyes narrowed as he stared at her.

"OHHH! I'm a-fraiddd!" The girl thing put both hands up on either side of her face. She tilted her head to one side and batted her eyelashes at us. "Oh please, please don't hurt us! Pleassseeee!"

What faded in beside her...well, I've never seen anything quite like that. Wait a minute. Yeah, I have. Once, when I lived on the streets I found a toy out in the alley. I took it back to my hiding place. I didn't collect much when I was out there, but I kept that. I don't know why. It was a small doll with a potbelly and bowlegs. The plastic was orange and dirty. It had thin wispy hair on the top of its head that stood straight up.

Troll.

A troll doll. Yeah, that was what the humans called it.

This demon's head was bald. He was short. Shadows crawled underneath his skin. Funny thing was (funny-peculiar, not funny haha) his skin was the same dirty orange color of the doll I found.

The troll man laughed. "You spoiled our fun. You three are going to pay for that. We-"

Dean frowned. "Okay, enough of the monologue," he said roughly. The troll sputtered and put a hand on his throat. I pricked my ears up alertly. Dean made him shut up just by thinking about it. Neat trick.

"Let's cut to the chase." Dean sounded bored. "You're related to those two bitches topside. We recognize that stench. You get off on torturing hellhounds and you make money on the side staging dogfights in Hell and on Earth. Did I miss anything?"

The little girl thing giggled. "Such a clever dog!"

The troll jerked as Dean released him. He rubbed his throat as he scowled at us. "You don't have the balls to kill us. What you did proved it. This is what what happens when you Knights try so hard to be good," the troll sneered. "You get weak. Soft. Cain's hiding somewhere playing beekeeper. And you? You're playing house with a couple of four legged rejects."

The shadows moved closer. This was it then.

Boomer and I growled. The ground shook, but they were not scared of us.

Yet.

"Let me get this straight, genius," Dean said slowly, as if he couldn't believe how stupid they were."Just because you haven't seen me slice and dice somebody you think I've gone soft?"

They didn't answer. They charged at us. Every one of them did, except for the girl thing and the troll. They stood back, outside of the ring.

I stood on two legs. I clawed the ones who came at me. Everything was a haze, sights and sounds all blurred together. They hit me with their clubs. The clubs shattered. I didn't feel a thing. Several of them tried to stab me with their knives. The knives broke apart. I didn't realize why until later. I was too busy killing them

The demons bled smoke. They screamed.

They died.

I felt good. All the fear I felt was gone. They couldn't hurt us.

But we could hurt them.

I had my back to Dean and Boomer. I didn't have to look, I knew what they were doing. Boomer ripped into the five demons who tried to corner him. He stayed on all fours, but he was huge now, the size of those bears I've seen on tv. I think you call them grizzly bears.

He bit into them and once he latched onto them he shook his head from side to side like a terrier shakes a rat. They broke when he hit them with his huge paws. They tried to stab him too. Nothing they did worked.

I saw Dean. One moment he was a man, the next I saw his wolf trueform. Seven of them went after him. The biggest demon wrapped his arm around Dean's throat from behind. The others grabbed his arms and legs. They swarmed all over him slashing and hitting at him.

That made me really angry. I tossed the last dead demon of mine aside, turned around and headed that way to help Dean. I should have known better. Oh me of little faith.

Dean rumbled laughter.

The air around him glowed bright red. The Mark of Cain sang underneath Dean's skin. She sounded happy.

The demons blew apart. Must have been a Knight of Hell thing. Dean's power glowed in the air all around us. That was why the knives shattered and those clubs broke in two.

They looked surprised. And then they died. That was pretty funny.

I'd heard a lot of things about Cain. How he could kill with a touch. How he could move things and stop demons with a thought. That was why any demon with any sense feared him so. And these fools thought Dean was weak? That just showed how stupid they were.

The girl thing and the troll backed up. The air around them shimmered and then stopped. They weren't going anywhere. Dean wouldn't let them.

All Boomer and I could do was stare. We'd never seen anything like this before.

"Going somewhere?" Dean called out. He smiled, bright and feral, as he raised his hand and crooked his finger at them. "C'mere."

The girl demon and the troll backed up. The terror that rose up from them smelled worse than the fear the hounds felt.

Good.

They turned and ran.

They didn't get far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC this week: Dean makes sure that Crowley has a really bad day.


End file.
